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Harris promises to pass first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food

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Louise Thomas

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Kamala Harris has unveiled part of her economic policy platform, including a ban on price gouging on groceries, a plan to build three million new homes, and the slashing of prescription drug costs.

In her first major policy speech focusing on the economy, the vice president proposed help for home buyers and an effective tax cut for 100 million Americans.

Harris delivered the speech ahead of a planned bus tour across Pennsylvania this weekend with running mate Governor Tim Walz before the Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago on Monday.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump sparked outrage with remarks in which he compared civilian and military awards, once again appearing dismissive of service personnel.

The former president said the Medal of Freedom he gave wealthy donor Miriam Adelson was better than the Medal of Honor because recipients of the latter are “either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead”.

The Harris campaign said he was “dishonoring America’s greatest heroes, again”.

The comments surfaced after Trump held his second press conference in a week at his exclusive golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, following his previous meltdown at Mar-a-Lago.

Key Points

  • Harris promises to lower costs, slams Trump for having ‘no serious plans’ to help middle class
  • Trump makes jaw-dropping comparison of medal he gave donor and medals given to soldiers
  • Trump uses latest press conference to rehash Harris complaints but offers no vision for 2025
  • Trump says he’s ‘entitled’ to personal attacks on Harris after she called him ‘weird'
  • Joe Biden gets hero’s welcome as he joins Harris for first joint rally and derides ‘Donald Dump’
  • Baby Boomers are fleeing Trump and switching allegiance to Harris
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How the presidential candidates compare on economic policy

Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris want to claim the mantle as the greatest champion of the working class.

At the center of their pitches to those voters is economic policies. This week, the Vice President rolled out her plan to lower costs for American families including tax credits for children, price control efforts, and housing assistance. Many of the proposals aren’t strictly new but instead expand on the efforts of President Joe Biden.

One of the main cudgels that Trump has used to bash the Biden administration has been the high rate of inflation. Trump says that he will bring down prices when he’s back in the White House - but it remains unclear how he would do that, as a president can’t bring down prices on their own. And while prices remain high, inflation has been cooling in recent weeks.

Here’s a look at Trump and Harris’s economic plans.

Harris vs Trump: How the presidential candidates compare on economic policy

Harris expands on Biden policies as Trump pushes expansion of oil and gas production to lower prices

Gustaf Kilander17 August 2024 14:50 1723900800

Harris promises to lower costs as she slams Trump for having ‘no serious plans’ to help middle class

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris unveiled her economic plan in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday afternoon, warning that her rival, Donald Trump, would “make the cost of living go up for millions of Americans.”

The vice president’s plan is focused on economic initiatives that would benefit the middle class, with tax cuts she said would affect 100 million Americans, a federal ban on price gouging, lower drug prices, and the building of millions more homes. Harris compared each aspect of her agenda to that of Trump, promising a bright future in contrast to the former president’s dark vision of the past.

Kelly Rissman and Andrew Feinberg report.

Kamala Harris promises to lower costs as she slams Trump for ‘no serious plans’

‘Key to creating this opportunity economy is building up our middle class,’ Harris said

Oliver O'Connell17 August 2024 14:20 1723899000

Tim Walz joins TikTok with guest appearance from dog Scout

Tim Walz’s dog Scout made a special appearance in his first-ever TikTok video posted on Friday, 16 August. Kamala Harris’s VP pick introduced himself on the platform with a short clip filmed next to the Mississippi River. The clip comes months after Joe Biden signed a law seeking to force ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based owner, to sell the video-sharing platform. Ms Harris said in March: “We do not intend to ban TikTok. “We need to deal with the owner and we have national security concerns about the owner of TikTok, but we have no intention to ban TikTok.”

Oliver O'Connell17 August 2024 13:50 1723897200

Border arrests drop 33% to a 46-month low in July after asylum restrictions take hold

Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico plummeted 33% in July to the lowest level since September 2020, a result of asylum being temporarily suspended, authorities said Friday.

The Border Patrol made 56,408 arrests last month, down from 83,536 arrests in June, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, its parent agency.

Asylum was halted at the border June 5 because arrests for illegal crossings topped a threshold of 2,500 a day, though a lack of deportation flights prevents authorities from turning away everyone. U.S. authorities say arrests dropped 55% after the measure, which followed a steep decline earlier this year that was widely attributed to Mexican authorities increasing enforcement within their borders.

Continue reading...

Border arrests drop 33% to a 46-month low in July after asylum restrictions take hold

U.S. authorities say arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico plummeted 33% in July to the lowest level since September 2020, a result of asylum being temporarily suspended

AP17 August 2024 13:20 1723895400

Flustered Trump still has no answer to Kamala Harris’s campaign

Donald Trump summoned reporters to one of his properties for the second time in as many weeks to deliver a campaign message – but they would be hard-pressed to find something new or interesting to write about.

John Bowden reports.

Flustered Trump still has no answer to Kamala Harris’s campaign

Analysis: John Bowden watches as Donald Trump rambles about the cost of living and the economy from a golf club that he owns

Oliver O'Connell17 August 2024 12:50 1723893600

Yikes — Vance is now the least popular VP candidate in modern history

JD Vance is now the least popular vice presidential candidate in modern history – even below Sarah Palin, according to polling averages collated by FiveThirtyEight.

Donald Trump’s Republican running mate has a net approval rating of -9 per cent, with 33 per cent of voters viewing him favorably and 42 per cent unfavorably.

Alicja Hagopian looked at the numbers.

JD Vance is now the least popular VP candidate in modern history

Polling averages show that JD Vance has a -9 net popularity rating, worse than Sarah Palin’s low in 2008

Oliver O'Connell17 August 2024 12:20 1723891800

Obama ‘HOPE’ artist creates new artwork for Harris

Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the iconic “Hope” poster that became the symbol of Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, has created a similar piece of artwork for Kamala Harris’s 2024 run for the White House.

(Bloomberg/Getty)

In a statement on his website, Fairey said that Kamala Harris’s words “We are not going back” to him summarized the moment, and “in order not to go back, we must go FORWARD!”

“While we have not achieved all the goals we might be seeking, we are making progress – all in the face of expanding threats and regressive political adversaries,” he continued.

“But we are not going back. In fact, we have a very real opportunity to move forward. If we act we can move forward our desire for a healthy planet, for corporate accountability, toward equality and away from racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia, for equitable access to opportunity, for full access to the medical care we want or need, for fair and just immigration policies.”

Artist Shepard Fairey, who created the iconic ‘Hope’ image of Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign, has created new artwork for Kamala Harris for her 2024 run for the White House, titled ‘Kamala Harri Forward’ (Art by Shepard Fairey)

Fairey said he believes Harris and her vice presidential pick Tim Walz are the best chance to move forward and to “push back on encroaching fascism and threats to democracy, and our best chance for creating the world we all desire and deserve”.

He adds: “Politics is messy… but messy is no excuse for checking out. Messy is the work and the work can be joyful. Messy is what it takes to get through the daunting mess in pursuit of a better future. But we only win if we show up. Be ready for Nov 5. Check your voter registration status now.”

Fairey concludes by stating that the artwork is a tool of grassroots activism for everyone to use non-commercially and that he was not paid for it and would receive no financial benefit.

He concludes: “I created this work purely in pursuit of a better future. Let’s get there together!”

Oliver O'Connell17 August 2024 11:50 1723890000

What impact will pro-Palestine protests have on the DNC?

When the Democratic National Convention gets underway in Chicago next week, it is expected to be accompanied by the largest pro-Palestine protests in the city’s history, according to advocacy groups.

Pro-Palestine demonstrators aren’t new to Chicago. They have been marching on the city’s streets every weekend since last October, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 people hostage. An estimated 40,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza and 85 per cent of people displaced from their homes there since the war’s onset.

The DNC, where Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are expected to accept their nominations, faces significant disruption from protests, with Chicago home to the largest community of Palestinians in the country. Tens of thousands are anticipated to mobilize.

Kelly Rissman looks at what the impact might be.

What impact will pro-Palestine protests have on the DNC in Chicago?

Chicago could see anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 demonstrators

Oliver O'Connell17 August 2024 11:20 1723886400

Trump gets distracted by box of Cheerios

Well, at least it wasn’t the Froot Loops.

Rhian Lubin reports.

Bizarre moment Trump is distracted by box of Cheerios at Bedminster press conference

‘I’m going to take some of them back to my cottage and have a lot of fun,’ the former president said while looking at the table of grocery goods

Oliver O'Connell17 August 2024 10:20 1723882800

CNN panel devolves into shouting match after Nancy Mace repeatedly mispronounces Harris’s name

A CNN panel devolved into a shouting match on Thursday after a GOP representative refused to pronounce Kamala Harris’s name correctly.

The panel featured Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina. She was joined by several other commentators, including Democratic strategist Keith Boykin and Vanderbilt University professor Michael Dyson

Katie Hawkinson watched what happened.

CNN panel erupts into chaos as Nancy Mace repeatedly mispronounces Harris’s name

The GOP congresswoman said she will pronounce Vice President Kamala Harris’s name ‘any way’ she wants to

Oliver O'Connell17 August 2024 09:20 Newer1 / 6Older

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